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Outing in Ottawa
Summary: - When Dredclaw and Sunder decide to go watch Astrotrain's antics in Canada, they get more than they bargined for... one mad Dinobot! 'Wing n Thruster ''Fashioned from multiple suites which have had their adjoining walls removed, The Wing and Thruster provides a modestly spacious lounge area for the commander and crew of the Argosy. A bar is set just inside the door along one wall and is manned by the barkeep- Oilcan who knows when to say when -most of the time - even if some of his patrons may not. Throughout the rest of the lounge are scattered tables and booths that provide seating for nearly any size Decepticon. A large glassteel window provides a view of the skies through which the Argosy is currently flying, and patrols of Seekers and flights of Sweeps can be seen entering and leaving the hangar from this vantage point. A large trophy case has been erected along the wall behind the bar and is filled with momentos of past battles. Along the shorter side wall is an elliptical meeting table with a holographic display on the wall beside it. One or more Sweeps can usually be found here, planning a Hunt or reviewing footage from past missions. At the top of the board glows their current primary objective: '''PRIORITY OBJECTIVE: To make pay those who refuse to bow before Galvatron's Might! Sunder enters the Wing & Thruster, and spots his wingsib by the windows. He goes over to the bar, paws forward some credits, receives his drink of choice (Bloody Seeker, natch), and goes over to Dredclaw. "You look happy this evening, wingsib," Sunder comments, cocking an optic brow. Light glints off fangs as Dredclaw nods into his drink. "Oh, I am, brother. I've finished the preliminary research on my upgrades. I've got some promising results to say the least." He kicks a foot out and hooks a chair, swinging it to sit with his. "Have a seat, commander. I think you'll find some of this very interesting. I'd dare say some of this would look good on you." he grins wickedly splaying a hand and motioning his wingsib to sit. A lopsided grin forms on Sunder's bearded face and he takes the seat offered by Dredclaw. "Oh indeed," he purrs, "I am currently researching upgrades as well, and I'd love to see what you've come up with." Dredclaw mmmhmms as he takes his sip of white. Leaning over he shows Sunder the file he is perusing. "It's the monofilament microsaws, but that's not what I was thinking of for you..." he purrs, "I think you might want to take a look at this. It's an injection system that is deployable via your talons. And the best thing about it... you can load it with your choice of weaponizable solutions." "Indeed," Sunder says, gazing with interest at the injection system upgrade. "With such a system, I could strike like a viper, then allow the solution to eat away at my prey--perhaps crippling them completely." Dredclaw grins evilly at his twin. "Yeah, there's more than one specifically designed to course through their systems. There's an acid base, and a nanite based. There's even some that attack the neural circuit pathways, disrupting motor relay." He pauses a moment, "Though those are difficult to synthesize according to what I've found…" Dredclaw leans back, "But I'm betting Revenant and Arachnae could do it." he takes another slug of drink, finishing the cube and setting it down, where its ray geometry fades and disappears. The Sweep XO rumbles in approval. "The neurodisruptor appeals to me, but I think I should have the acid-based delivery system installed first. Some of my prey are difficult, and acid will go a long way to softening them up. Perhaps later, when the neurodisruptors are perfected, I shall consider implementing that. I also feel the need to increase my strength. What good are my talons, without the force to back them up?" he looks at his talons, flexes them a few times, and sighs. He then takes another sip of his drink. Dredclaw's brow shoots upwards as he nods, "Ready to take a spin with the training harnesses eh? I was planning on that myself. A myomer bundle upgrade coupled with our Wingsib's creation will have us looking like another pair of Bloodwulfs in no time…" he ponders another cube. "I think a powercore refit is in order as well. We don't want to look like a pair of old grandfather guardians out there, we have a reputation to uphold..." Sunder's optics light up. "I believe I am ready, yes," he says, "It would be a fitting tribute to the fallen ones, yes?" Of all the Lost Wingsibs, Sunder misses Bloodwulf the most. "No, we don't want to look obsolete, and I do not yet feel ready for the scrapyard," he chuckles darkly, "It is our job to weed out the obsolete and weak, and we must never allow ourselves to become such." "here here." Dredclaw agrees. Standing and snagging a standard energon from a passing ensign, "How thoughtful of you." he says to the smaller mech with a smirk. "As Arachnae is fond of saying, evolve or die." Sunder orders another drink after draining his glass. "Yes, although I would think that goes without saying," he says, "Those that do not adapt are weeded out and sent to the Void. And I have no intention of meeting the Void anytime soon." A grin spreads across his face. "To those we lost to the Void," he says, raising his glass. Astrotrain appears in a picture alongside Peter Mansbridge on the Canadian news. Let's face it. The man will still be here in all his baldness even a thousand years from now, giving the news to Canucks. "We go live now to a disturbance in Ottawa!" Astrotrain can be seen outside the Parliament buildings, completely ignoring police as they ineffectively fire handguns at him. He has a carload of terrified Quebec residents in front of him, having torn the roof off their vehicle so he could have a proper 'conversation'. "A'right a'right. Tell me if I got this right. BUN JUR MON SOOR! What? QUIT SCREAMING!" Dredclaw salutes their fallen, "To our lost Brothers." he says, lifting his glass high. "We shall fill the Void with Prey for you to Hunt until the Void preys on us." he sorely missed Bloodwulf; it was no secret that the two were the closest of wingsibs. It was largely due to him that Dredclaw was pushed to excel and seek the XO position. Looking down at Sunder, he nods and takes a draught from his glass. He is confident that Sunder will likewise excel in the position. He would see to it as if Bloodwulf were a breath behind him, racing him to make Sunder stronger, faster, and better, just as he had done for Dredclaw. Foxfire says, "The phrase is 'bonjour, monsieur'...what the HELL are you doing?!" Astrotrain says, "I'm broadening my vocabulary you mangy Autotrash! Quit distractin me!" Snarl says, "Me Snarl smoosh you stoopid Septicon!" Foxfire says, "If you're gonna speak French, then do it right, Retardicon!" Sunder nods, and drinks the toast. Indeed, it is almost as if the spirit of Bloodwulf himself has been channeled into Sunder lately. "Even in death our prey do not escape us," he says sinisterly, "For our brothers surely hunt them in the Beyond." Astrotrain says, "I can't heeeear you!" Astrotrain says, "Now where was I? Oh yeah..." Astrotrain says, "Par Lez Voos Fran Sez?" Astrotrain says, "I SAID QUIT SCREAMING! Jeez, how'm I supposed to learn third world languages?" Sunder says, "Like the rest of us do, Astrotrain. With a datapadd and the computer library." Astrotrain says, "Yeah maybe that would work if...shut up!" Cyclonus does not reply. Rather, an irate Quebequios who happens to be an amateur radio operator and somehow pilfered this frequency is the one to blame. "What?! What eez thees?! How dare you offend the grace and beauty of ze fairest tongue! Honor is not satisfied! Zhat Autobot.. ze Foxfire, will keek your behind into ze littles piezes, and stomp on your groin until you sing campfire songs in ze voice of a leetle girl!" Jayson Redfield mutters, "M'probably gonna get in trouble for this..." He sounds like he's messing with a communications device. "Isn't there anything better for you to do than butcher a language? Get off my planet, ya scrapheap!" Astrotrain says, "...okay I kinda like this French thing all of a sudden." Dredclaw says, "Though I must say, I like your style. You look good on the Terran television stations! *laughing*" Foxfire says, "...Huh. Even the Canadians know me. I must be famous. Uh, yeah! What he said!" Dredclaw stands up, "Shall we?" '******* DECEPTICON SPINNY ******* '''Ottawa ''This is the capitol of Canada. It's just like any major city, though, everything's labeled in French and English. Like the US to the south, people still drive on the right side of the road, though the posted distances and speeds are metric. The people here speak English, though many can speak French just as well as the Ontario-Quebec border runs right along the Ottawa-Hull city border. Some of the more interesting sights are the Parliament building, the canal with its system of locks in the heart of downtown, and the home of the Prime Minister of Canada. The people are friendly individually, but unlike the Canadian stereotype, people still bump into you on the street without so much as acknowledging it and the poor drivers are plentiful on the roadways. Most stores accept American money here, but it's best to have it exchanged for Canadian to avoid some price gouging. The weather is comparable to upstate New York's, which is just about sixty miles to the south. Astrotrain is indeed, just like on TV...standing out front of Parliament. It's wide open, with the river nearby and all that. Perfect for a military to put their tanks to use since he's standing still and all. Oh right, this is Canada. The terrified French speakers are in a now open-topped car after the triplechanger has conveniently removed the lid like a sardine can. And he's kneeling, shouting butchered phrases that perhaps half resemble French in some form or fashion. "ALLEZ VOOS! Ouvre la...uh...door! Fromage....Tabarnac...uh..." The gigantic mech lands, causing the ground to crack under his weight. Snarl's blue optics gazing around for a moment, "Oh wait...me Snarl could get french fries...if dey French..." He stops for a moment to think this over, but then shakes his head. "No, PIE IS DA ONLY TREAT FOR ME SNARL!" He proclaims, and begins to run towards the building. Course...Snarl gets horribly lost, and his bellowing for directions only get him screams....and a language he doesn't understand. This...could take a moment. Astrotrain is oblivious to the arrival of Dinobots several streets away at the moment. He's so engrossed in his 'French lesson'. It would probably be completely hilarious if not for the fact that the triplechanger is known to have the attention span of an ADD toddler at times, and it could turn dangerous. For the moment, he still keeps shouting loudly at the screaming family in the car. "Wait, what do you mean 'AHHHHGH!'? You've been saying that for everything! They can't all mean the same thing!" From high in the sky, two soapdishes descend, transforming and landing on top of Parliament, "What do we have here, Sunder? A language conference!" he peers at Snarl, "Though I think that one only speaks dummy." Jayson Redfield has arrived. Sunder grins, as he perches on top of the Parliament building like a gargoyle. He peers at Astrotrain and his endlessly amusing antics, then takes note of at least one Dinobot. Snarl blinks for a moment, as a woman points at the Parliament building. Then what truly causes the energon to boil...is the Sweeps descending. For a moment, Snarl just shakes his head and roar. "Me Snarl hate dem Soapdishes! Him Revenant must PAY!" With that, the Dinobot leans down, and transforms into his Stego mode. "Me Snarl Smash!!!!" Snarl just charges through the streets. He disregards any humans in the fray; the Dinobot cares nothing for the flesh bags. Only that, he sees his enemy...AND THEY MUST BE SQUISHED! Mechanisms rearranging, Snarl falls down into his Stegosaurus mode. Dredclaw looks at Sunder, "Wow, what did Rev do to Dinodolt?" he cups a hand and hollers down to Astrotrain, "Hey big guy, lookout for that running earthquake! I think he's mad at us..." Astrotrain fistshakes at the carload of people for good measure. "This is what I get fer tryin to learn obscure languages! Ya know what would be easy? If the rest of ya would just learn the language that the rest of the world speaks normal it wouldn't be so hard, would it!?" He's then cut off as he hears the Sweeps talking, and turns to glare up in their direction. "A'right, who invited you gargoyle mechs to this show?" While the triplechanger is distracted, the carload of people make a run for it. Just as Astrotrain takes note of Snarl's presence. Well at least there's only one Dinobot...right? "...aw great, JUST what I needed." Jayson Redfield has arrived in Ottawa as fast as he could, upon hearing the reports. His means of conveyance are unseen--likely some kind of military vehicle. Either way, he's in the streets of the city, darting through the crowds. And there's a mechanical Stegosaurus heading his way. "WHOA!" He bolts to the side, narrowly avoiding being trampled by the charging Dinobot. "Hey! Slow down!" he calls after Snarl. Sunder exchanges a knowing glance with his wingsib, then motions towards the Dinobot. "Looks like the prey has decided to come to us," he says. Then he shouts, loud enough for anyone, including Snarl to hear, "Hey, Dino-dolt! You know why you have all those plates on your back? So I can pick them off one by one and use them to eat off of!" Dredclaw smirks, "That's sure to quiet him down...good choice" he looks down at all the running squishies. "It's like...a little astro-ant farm, but they scream..." his talons ~shinkt~ out as he ponders targets. One in particular catches his e-senses... a human that is not running away from Snarl, but after him. "Oh ho, what is this?" he tilts his head and grins malevolently. "Methinks I smell a hero." Jayson is a fairly slender young man in his late adolescence, standing at about five feet, eight inches. He has violet-colored eyes, and sandy blonde hair that's a bit on the long side, tied back at the nape of his neck. His bangs partly fall into his face. He has a pair of goggles that he typically wears as a sort of headband until he actually needs them. He wears the standard EDC uniform, and an indication that he is a Private. At his waist is a holster carrying a .44 cal Mark XIX Desert Eagle. Snarl slams his tail to the ground, as his optics lock onto Sunder. "Me Snarl say shut up!" The gigantic maw of the Stegosaurus opens up, and a gout of fire just shoots right up at the Sweep. The Dinobot doesn't keep that up however, as he's more into the up close and personal type of relationship. "Me Snarl say you come down here, come down here and fight like Dinobot!" He stomps his foot, causing the street to splinter and crack. Astrotrain also gets a glare...and he's closer than the others! Snarl strikes Sunder with Nostril flames! Astrotrain was of course the one who was initially here causing all this trouble to begin with. So he was kind of expecting to be the one to draw all the attention at first. As the flames erupt outwards, he lifts one arm to shield his face....only to lower it a moment later in some surprise as he sees that it's the Sweeps who get the attention instead. "Hey! HeyHEYHEY!" He points a finger at the Dinobot. "What're ya ignorin me for!? They just came along, I'm the one you..." Insert the sound of something clicking into place in his mind. Dinobot arrives; Dinobot attacks Sweeps and not Triplechanger. "...on second thought, don't let me get in yer way!" Jayson Redfield sighs. Snarl isn't going to calm down, it seems. He ducks into a nearby alley to check out the situation from relative safety. The Sweeps are of concern, yes...but Astrotrain was the one originally causing trouble. Therefore, he should be Jayson's focus. The young Private hurries out into the open, unaware that Dredclaw has noticed him. "Hey you!" he calls in a taunting manner. "Learn to speak French properly!" Sunder snarls as the flames reach him. He tried to leap off the building in time, but the flame nicked him. "I'll teach you to play with fire, Dinobot!" Sunder hisses, then transforms. Once in Sweepcraft Mode, he charges up his plasma cannons. "In the mood for Barbecued Dinobot, Dredclaw?" he asks. Sunder strikes Snarl with plasma. Dredclaw leaps aside as Snarl tries to BBQ his twin, wings snap out and he leaps down to street level, "If you're cooking, might as well..." he lands rather close to Astrotrain. "Didn't mean to steal your thunder." he grates. "I wasn't aware that Dinobreath could remember things long enough to hold a grudge against us." he points towards Jayson, "By the way, you have a heckler." Snarl roars, as there is now a smoking hole in his back now. His optics turn to small slits, and he bellows his anger. "Me Snarl smash!" Transforming back into his robot mode, Snarl looks over at the triple-changer and runs at him. "Me Snarl have idea!" With that, the mighty Dinobot grasps the Decepticon, even as the other Sweep lands next to him. "Me Snarl use Septicon like bat, dat what dose humans do in dat boring game!" Thinking Dredclaw is Sunder; Snarl tries to slam Astrotrain into him. Snarl strikes you with homerun hit for 11 points of damage. Astrotrain has indeed noticed the heckler, and turns towards the human at Dredclaw's urgings. "...eH? Yeah!? Who the smeg are you!? Some kinda expert! If ya think yer so good let's hear Y..YURK!" With that, he's hefted bodily into the air by the Dinobot. Astrotrain is big, but a dinobot is even bigger, to put it simply. And a moment later he's sent hurtling into the Sweep with a heavy *CLANK* of impact, the song of metal on metal ringing out against the nearby buildings as Astrotrain collapses into a heap, possibly on top of Dredclaw. "....nice catch, loser." Dredclaw is slammed backwards into the Parliament building, sending showers of concrete down as he ricochets off of the triplechanger. Pulling himself out of the depression in the wall he cracks his neck servos and growls, "Flame broiled dino it is, then" his plasma bursters slide out of his gauntlets and lock into place. You strike Snarl with plasma bursters. Jayson Redfield fingers his holstered gun. It's tempting...but can an Earth weapon do much against a Cybertronian. The corner of his left eye twitches, a clear indication that he's irritated. "I'm *half* French, moron. I know much more about the language than *you* do!" His annoyance turns into amusement as Astrotrain is thrown into Dredclaw. "That's probably why I'll never play baseball with an Autobot..." He draws his gun, taking on an offensive posture. He carefully aims toward Dredclaw--nothing ventured, nothing gained. He pulls the trigger. You evade Jayson Redfield's pistol attack. Sweepcraft is eager to take the big Dinobot down. "I like mine well-done," he says, "Any less than that, and they tend to kick too much. Speaking of which, I should probably tenderize him, too." And with that, he opens fire with his machine guns. "Swiss-cheese Dinobot Flambé!" Sunder strikes Snarl with ballistic. Snarl raises his arm up, and the plasma sinks deep into the armor plating. Yet, the damage was very minimal to the Dinobot. "Dat all you Stoopid Soapdish do? You make me Snarl laugh!" Hur hur hur! Leaves the idiotic mech. Though, he then looks at Astrotrain and sneers at the triple changer. "Me Snarl, not forget about..ARGH!!!" Snarl is pelted by a barrage of hot metal. "You see, dis why me Snarl hate you Sweeps!" Forgetting about Astrotrain now, Snarl stomps over towards Sunder, who flies through the air. Then taking a leap, Snarl tries to grasp onto the Sweep. His arms just barely missing. "You Smoosh now!" He roars, and tries to double fist slam the unicronian into the ground. Snarl strikes Sweepcraft with Stay down. Astrotrain slowly picks himself up from where he was thrown, just shy of crashing into the Eternal Flame. Sitting upright, he rubs at his head, and slowly picks up his rifle, staring at the Dinobot as he seems to consider taking a shot. However, the human's words are still ringing in his audios, and that prompts the Decepticon to be distracted once again by the original purpose he came here for. Yes, even in the middle of a firefight. Besides, Snarl seems to have a thing for the Sweeps as it is and darned if he's going to get in the middle of it. "Oh a wiseguy, eh!?" He states, one huge hand suddenly reaching out as a thumb and forefinger try to pinch Jayson up by the scruff of his shirt. "C'mere you!" Astrotrain succeeds in grasping Jayson Redfield, throwing him off-balance. "Whoa!" Jayson is promptly lifted off the ground, dangling from his shirt's collar. "Put me DOWN, you oversized piece of scrap metal!" he demands as he attempts to free himself, clutching his gun tightly. "I'll shoot you right in the optic!" An update on the situation in Ottawa. Snarl can be seen fighting the Decepticons, while a lone EDC trooper, Private Jayson Redfield, confronts Astrotrain, who now has him lifted off the ground by the scruff of his shirt. Things do not look good! Dredclaw's plasma bursters slide back into his arms and he heads towards the Dino as he sees a flash of metal from the corner of his optics, raising a wing, the shot from the human's attack is deflected with minimal damage and he pauses, but then sees Astrotrain reaching for the fleshling. Fine, he didn't have time for that anyway... his clawed mace ejects from his outer thigh as he rushes in to disentangle Sunder from Snarl's grasp. "Well we're not that fond of you either, Chuckles...." You strike Snarl with clawed mace. Apparently Snarl was trying to use the Soapdish as a Surfboard, but instead Sweepcraft is knocked to the ground--as much by the Dinobot's weight as by the intentional smash. The Sweep is relieved when Dredclaw comes to his aid, and he powers up his engines, full throttle, once he recovers. "Let's see how you like being run over!" Sweepcraft howls, then charges at the Dinobot, intending to use his soapdishy form as a projectile. Sunder strikes Snarl with ram. Snarl is sent flying back, as the intense speed of the Sweep. His body slamming and skidding along the ground, as his hands try to find a hold to slow himself. "Dat it!" Snarl roars, and then transforms. "Me Snarl send you both back to stoopid Septicon base, in PIECES!" The Stegosaurus begins his charge at the two Sweeps, but then stops and pivots. His thagomizer heading for both of the Unicronians. Snarl strikes you with area_melee for 14 points of damage. Snarl unleashes his area_melee attack on Dredclaw and Sunder, striking Dredclaw. Astrotrain completely ignores the talk of shooting in the optics and all. Gleefully holding Jayson aloft and seeming to enjoy the moment. Let's face it. If they were school yard kids right now, Astrotrain would be the one stuffing crud into Jayson's shirt. "Sayin somethin in french then, yersosmart! Or I'm gonna start a new game I call the Squishy Long Toss!" Just smile and nod, folks. He was probably up all night thinking that one over. There's a pause as he considers, then looks off to one side. "...why the smeg was I tryin to learn some stupid language like that anyway?" Why indeed. "Because it's a cultured language and learning it would make you look smart?" Jayson offers. "Aw, never mind." He continues dangling. "You want me to speak in French? Fine. Vous etes un idiot stupide! Translate THAT." He smirks. "It's good to have French relatives." Dredclaw is caught in the spikes of Snarl's tail! Crying out in pain, he flips his mace over and presses a hidden button. The mace extends and a bright blue energy-scythe erupts from the top. Swinging it in a downward arc, he tries to cut the offending spikes off! "Grrahhh!" You strike Snarl with E-Scythe. Dredclaw gasps as the spikes puncture his side, "Grrahhh! Oh, that's leaving a mark...." Sweepcraft is not on the ground yet, so the spiky tail misses him. "Let's see if this Dino likes a taste of my disruptors," the Sweep snarls, and fires at the Dinobot. Sunder strikes Snarl with disruptor. Andi Lassiter has arrived. Sunder says, "My brother, are you badly damaged?" Dredclaw grunts, "I've had worse... give me a moment and I'll extricate myself." Snarl goes into a full fuel energon frenzy. The gigantic Dinobot stomping about, even as he has a Sweep attached to his tail. "Me Snarl smash, smash, SMASHH!!!!!!" He bellows, even as one of his tail spikes is lopped off by Dredclaw. At least the Sweep is free from his fury. However, Sunder, has now drawn his attention. "Now me Snarl tired of yous!" That's when the Dino's back spikes begin to glow a bright gold. "Me Snarl teach you lesson, lesson you wont forgets!" With that, Snarl sends his tail with all his might at Sunder. Snarl misses Sweepcraft with his SOLAR POWER TAIL!!! attack. Astrotrain continues to hold Jayson up with thumb and forefinger, even as his other hand puts his rifle away. "A'right lemme check that..." He states, producing a Canadian English-French dictionary. Yes, that's right. He's got one on him right now. And it looks ridiculously small as he hold sit in his other hand, somehow managing to turn pages with his thumb delicately moving bit by bit. Yes, as the sweeps are battling Snarl in front of Parliament, the triplechanger is looking up French. "Lessee...you...verb, are...HEY!" And with that he turns back to Jayson, shifting him now to hold him completely within his hand like one would grip a slippery little leprechaun. "Oh yer SO asking for it!" Jayson Redfield has holstered his gun at this point, figuring that it's pretty useless in his current situation. He makes an odd squeaking sound as he's shifting, knowing fully well that he could easily be crushed if Astrotrain so desired. He shrugs as best as he can, taking on an air of mock innocence. "You said to say something in French, so I did. You didn't tell me *what* you wanted me to say..." Andi Lassiter arrives hastily, driving an EDC-issued military-esque...jeep-thing. You know, one of those ugly ones. She was sent this way to find out what's going on and hopefully stop it, as she's one of the few humans around who has had more than a passing interaction with dinobots. And, she heard via the rumor mill that there's a rookie trying to play the hero and probably getting stepped on. Dredclaw sets himself free by lopping off a few of Snarl's tail spikes. The instant he hits the ground he is leaping into the air and folding in on himself! "Sunder, lookout!" he calls, ion drives firing and taking him upwards. As the glow of his engines momentary burn fades, Dredclaw loops around and two long ports open on the underside of his hull. A blast of smoke and two proton missiles streak out of the craft and fall rapidly towards ground zero...what was once known at the Parliament building. You strike Snarl with Proton missiles. Sweepcraft is already well out of the way, having cleared out when the Dinobot tried to blast him with that tail-gun. Once Dredclaw has attacked, he transforms, hovering just above where the Dinobot currently is. Smirking, he draws out his rocket-launcher. "I heard that Dinobots like to play. Well, here's a game that should be simple enough for even you to understand. CATCH!!!" He fires his rocket-propelled grenade, lobbing it at Snarl. Sunder strikes Snarl with rocket. Astrotrain briefly shakes his hand back and forth with the human inside, probably rattling Jayson up something fierce for a few seconds. "Ya think yer so smart, eh? It's a stupid language anyway!" And then, there's a rather generous portion of explosives being hurled in the proximity of the parliament buildings, so the triplechanger is forced to find a new spot, leaping away from Parliament hill and landing a full city block away, the deep *TOOM* of his heavy body ringing out as his blocklike feet make contact with the ground again. "Stupid, useless language!" He emphasizes for good measure on the human, perhaps having caught on that Jayson may be sensitive about such things. "Ya know what I think of it?" He proceeds to throw the dictionary on the ground. Conveniently into a hole in the street surface where there was some construction work being done today. How better to emphasize your point by throwing it not only on the ground...but -into- the ground to make your point of how low you consider it to be? Snarl is bombarded from both sides, the rockets and missiles creating a huge amount of smoke and debris. For a moment, it looks as if the Sweeps may have won. Though, the smoke is sent away as Snarl slashes his sword to the side. This causes a vacuum, which reveals that he had transformed into his robot mode. "Me Snarl angry..." He squints at the two Sweeps. Yet, he leaps up and tries to slash open Sunder with his energo-blade. Spinning and twisting, Snarl transforms into his robot mode. Snarl strikes Sunder with impale. "There! That's what I think of it!" The triplechanger finishes, his now free hand pulling up his rifle as he turns and discharges a blast directly into the hole where he threw the book. The hole that was a fuel line that was being worked on today. For two city blocks around, cars jump off their tires, alarm are set off and windows rattle as a deafening explosion and a large fireball rises into the sky where Astrotrain -was- just a second ago. Oh don't worry about Jayson, folks. He was safely encased INSIDE Astrotrain's hand...conveniently for him. Not so conveniently for the triplechanger, who is, a few moments later, laying on his back....blackened and smoking, his fingers falling open and allowing the human his salvation. "....ow." Jayson Redfield gets a bit lightheaded from the shaking, but quickly recovers. He grows frustrated. "If you think it's so stupid, then why were you trying to learn it, stupid?!" He squirms slightly in Astrotrain's grip. "My mother could teach you a thing or two..." He is promptly cut off by the explosion, which leaves him wide-eyed, but thankfully unharmed. "...Well. That was interesting." He scurries out of the Triplechanger's hand and moves several yards away before turning back to taunt him. "I think you just proved that you *are* an idiot." Andi Lassiter stops the jeep-thing thankfully a safe distance from the sweeps and Snarl AND Astrotrain thankfully. And again, thankfully, she's still in the vehicle when the explosion hits, so she only gets jostled a bit. "...the hell was that?" She gets out at that point and looks around, trying get a quick idea of what's going on. She spots the young man in the EDC outfit running away from something and waves at him. "HEY! Over here!" Sweepcraft strafes Snarl and the Parliament building, his main turret whirring up as he whirls to see his twin impaled, dropping lower to get a better bead on the towering Dinobot, he is rattled by a gout of flame and a manhole cover going ~fffwoomp~ just beside him as he opens up. Explosive ceramic darts careen all over the place as the Sweep attempts to bear down on Snarl. You strike Snarl with Explosive flechette rounds. Astrotrain lies on his back, smoke still curling up into the air as he tries to get the cobwebs out of his system. Jayson is indeed, in the clear, able to get away from the triplechanger fairly easily. Yep! No problems here! And then he had to turn around and taunt. Taunt Astrotrain. There's a split second of silence that follows as things seem to click back into place in his mind. And then? "...oh you SHOULDA kept runnin, you little fleshsack!" He doesn't even stand up to transform. His unique construction allows that. Just a twist of his upper torso, a flipping of his legs and his arms and a moment later his form has shifted up onto his eight, huge steel wheels. Thirty tons of vermillion locomotive. And all of it pointed in Jayson's direction. A puff of smoke erupts from his smokestack, and his giant wheels tear a sudden groove in the pavement of the street, like a bull pawing the ground in preparation to charge. Uh oh... Spinning and shifting parts result in Astrotrain’s heavy locomotive form taking shape. Sunder howls as the sword puts a pretty decent-sized gash into his chest. The Battlerage was upon him, and his optics glow brightly. He hisses, and lunges at the hand that was holding the Sword that impaled him, fangs flashing as his jaws open. Suddenly the jaws go *SNAP* Sunder strikes Snarl with bite. Snarl is not having a good day, and now flaming darts are hitting him from every possible angle! Though, this just causes Snarl to go onto a knee. Indeed, even for a Dinobot, he's starting to lose steam. "Urgh...Me Snarl still gonna Smash yous Soapdishes..." That's when Sunder's fangs dig into him. ..."Hur...hur hur hur!" He begins to laugh, as that was the equivalent of a fly bite to a human. "You wait turn, me Snarl get him with darty tingies!" Grasping Sunder by the head, Snarl tosses the unicronian at his twin brother. Snarl strikes you with Sweep toss for 11 points of damage. "...Oh, shit." Jayson stares at the train pointing at him. "Later!" He bolts in the opposite direction, hearing Andi call out to him. He heads toward her as fast as he can, obviously having no desire to be run over by a train-con. 'I'm gonna get my head bitten off by the higher-ups once I'm outta here,' he mentally sulks. Sweepcraft is screaming in at Snarl and Sunder when his doppelganger is lobbed straight at him! No way to avoid the collision, he transforms and catches his wingsib as the two smash into the ground. Trying to push Sunder off of him before the two get crushed by a rampaging Dinosaur, Dredclaw is forced to pull his pulse rife from subspace to get a shot off at Snarl and still keep his distance. "Get off me!" he snarls to his brother. You strike Snarl with pulse rifle blast. Andi Lassiter sees the train start after the young man and also curses to herself. It's been years since she last saw Astrotrain, and he was trying to run her over in that exact same manner. But was it Twin Twist or Victory Leo that stopped him that time? Man, it IS true what they say, memory DOES get worse when one gets older. She tries to think of what might be able to stop the train. Wait, what about that downed power line over there? Locomotive lets loose with a thick blast from his whistle as he suddenly erupts forward, an explosion of acceleration from his rocket boosters sending him hurtling after Jayson's oh so small and fragile form. Needless to say one good hit and it would be all over for the human in a rather messy display. What he does have going for him though is that, while Astrotrain is fast in this form, it's hard to maneuver amongst city streets as a locomotive, and his first run overshoots Jayson's position. Rather than waste time turning around, he transforms, then transforms again facing the right direction once more, doing it all in a matter of a second or so thanks to the quickchanging nature of his construction. "Hehehehe, ya can't keep dodgin forever! Yer gonna decorate my ram prow in a second!" Another menacing blast from his whistle follows. Think fast, Andi! Once Sunder regains his senses--which doesn't seem quite quickly enough--he does as his wingsib asks. "He will pay for that indignity, my brother," the Sweep growls. Glaring at the Dinobot, he warms up his headcannon, and the reddish-purple glow gives an eerie look to his face. "Be a good Dinobot and play dead," he says mockingly, before firing the laser at Snarl. Sunder strikes Snarl with Headcannon blast. "Not a chance, scrapheap!" Jayson is, fortunately, rather quick on his feet, a result of his skills as a street fighter. He darts away from Astrotrain again, but this time he does have to go far. He jumps down into a large hole dug up by construction workers, one that is much too small for the Triplechanger to fit into. 'Ain't this lovely,' he grumbles in his mind as he lowers his goggles down over his eyes. 'C'mon, Jay, you can think of a way outta this...' Snarl continues to just chug along, his body absorbing the damage. "Me Snarl no pay, me make YOU pay!" He says in a weakened tone. His body is smoking, and circuitry is visible. Indeed, Snarl is starting to wind down. Though he still hasn't reached his threshold yet. Lunging out at the two Sweeps, the Dinobot lifts them up. "Me Snarl say it nap time!" With that, He tries to crush both the unicronians heads together. "ME SNARL SAY SLEEP!" Andi Lassiter does indeed think fast. She's a scientist. She mentally calculates the spacing needed to get the power cable to hit the train at its weakest spot -- the undercarriage -- then runs out seemingly toward Jase's hidey hole while pulling on the heavy work gloves she normally keeps on hand for repairing armor damage on Autobots. Then she uses a convenient fallen tree branch to push the power cable across Astrotrain's revised path. Snarl strikes Sunder with beddyby time. You evade Snarl's beddyby time attack. You know what they say, two heads are better than one. But in this case, Dredclaw is gonna have to remain a loner! Twisting in Snarl's grasp, he lashes out with a boot, hoping against hope that blunt force trauma to the head will gain him his freedom! You strike Snarl with boot to da head! Sunder's head is grabbed, but it fails to make contact with his wingsib's cranial chamber. The force of the Dino's grasp does damage him somewhat however, and he yelps. As Dredclaw strikes out with his foot, Sunder lashes out with bared talons. "It's not my bedtime," he hisses. Sunder strikes Snarl with talon swipe. Locomotive doesn't charge again right away. Arcs of electricity rip from the tip of his boiler, lancing around Jayson's feet as he runs for cover. When the human jumps into the hole, the triplechanger grunts a moment later. "That ain't gonna save ya, ya sewer rat!" There is a brief sound of hydraulics, then a horrible wrenching noise as he starts moving forward again. He's angled his ram prow down somewhat, and now as he charges forward again, is ripping up the pavement in a horrible plowing motion as if he was ripping up the very underground workings into the light of day as he went. Indeed, he intends to literally dig...and pulp Jayson out of his hidey hole. "Here I come! Bwahahahaha!" And just at that moment, he runs over the cable that Andi has pulled across the street. He suddenly screeches to a halt, five feet short of reaching Jayson's hiding place as...nothing happens? A moment passes, and then Astrotrain transforms, rising up and actually HOLDING the cable in one hand triumphantly as he turns to glare towards Andi. "HAH! Stupid fleshy! With all this shootin these power lines have been cut off all over the place! Ya ain't gonna complete a current that easily!" He shakes the sparking cable in her direction in a 'tsk tsk' motion. "If ya wanted that ta happen I'd have to be touching two of them at once..." ...and you know JUST what Astrotrain did when he said that? He grabbed onto another cable across the street to demonstrate. Sparks explode everywhere. City lights dim for ten blocks in all directions as a Decepticon is lit up like a brilliant Christmas tree. Snarl is kicked...IN THE FACE! This causes the Dinobot to recoil and let go of both the Sweeps. "RAARRGHGH!!!" He roars, and shakes his head. His optics are blurry, and he can't see the attack from Sunder. The claws just slashing his shoulder, and splintering the armor. "Me Snarl say stop dat!" Almost about to fall over, Snarl trips his way towards Sunder. Quickly, he slashes his sword out in an attempt to cause the Sweep to flee. Snarl misses Sunder with his Slash attack. Astrotrain makes a lovely chorus as he's electrocuted. "EYAAAAABLBLBLLBLBLBLBLBLBLAZZZRT!" Sunder says, "Victory is imminent. The prey weakens." The Creepy One, Sunder sighs audibly over the channel. Andi Lassiter just grins up at Astrotrain-the-Christmas-tree, then calls down to Jase. "Get your ass out of that hole NOW and get over here!" Jayson Redfield stares at Astrotrain. "Now there's somethin' you don't see everyday." He takes the opportunity to make his escape, climbing out of the hole and running over to Andi. "That was *sweet*! Thanks, ma'am!" Andi Lassiter has no similar words for Jase. "Get in the jeep. And stay there." Andi Lassiter runs back to the jeep-thing herself, but opens the back and reaches to get something out. Jayson Redfield winces at the tone, lifting his goggles. "Ah...yes, ma'am." He does as told, looking somewhat miserable about the whole thing. So much for trying to help. Once in the Jeep, he just shifts slightly in an attempt to make himself comfortable. Dredclaw hits the ground as Snarl lets go of him and his brother. Scrambling to get up, he slips in the debris from the fight and almost gets dumped on the ground again. Wiping energon from a cut on his lip, he bares his talons, "Even Dinobots have glittery bits inside... how I'd love to sink my claws into them." The battlerage emboldens him as he lunges at Snarl, pink claws flashing as the lights flicker from Astrotrain's impromptu fireworks display. You strike Snarl with talon swipe. Astrotrain finally seems to drain all the juice out of the local area for a few seconds at least. And the sparks cease along with the twitching and the outline of a skeleton he doesn't have. The two halves of the cable fall from his hands as he stands still for a few seconds. Then slowly, oh so slowly he topples over backwards into the street, the heavy crash of his large form ringing out as he falls amidst a crackling cloud of acrid, black smoke. He'll be out of commission for a good few minutes now anyway as his systems reboot. More than enough time for people to make good their escape. The words 'Eat at Joes' appear hovering over his head in winking sparks. Sunder knows the prey has weakened--and easily dodges the blind swipe. Nodding at Dredclaw, he flexes his talons and gets ready to use them again. "Allow me to assist you in exposing those glittery bits," he purrs, then strikes out with both sets of claws, full force. "Now we'll see who sleeps, won't we?" Sunder strikes Snarl with evisceration. Andi Lassiter digs something seemingly innocuous looking out of the back of the jeep thing then races toward where Snarl is single-handedly trying to fend off two Sweeps. Snarl roars in pain, as his bare internals are being sliced away at. He's used too much energon, and is too damage. "Me Snarl...am sleepy..." With that, he tosses both of the Sweeps off. Then quickly, he transforms. "Me...Snarl go take nap..." Indeed, the Dinobot is retreating from the area. mechanisms rearranging, Snarl falls down into his Stegosaurus mode. Snarl begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Dredclaw, Sunder, Astrotrain. Astrotrain lays in the street, defeated and in a total reboot. For the next few minutes he's little more than a part of the scenery as his systems repair themselves. At least it can't get any worse than this. A lone pigeon lands on his head, wings fluttering slightly, before it takes off again, leaving a large white stain over one of his optics. Oh sweet irony. Dredclaw says, "Oh how I wish I had those monofilament claw saws now...." Sunder says, "Indeed. And I wish I had acid claws." Dredclaw gets thrown aside again, and by the time he rights himself, Snarl is lumbering away as fast as dinoly possible. Looking over to his twin, he grins in satisfaction and turns to look for Astrotrain. "What in the nine hells?" he heads for the triplechanger's prone form. "Why didn't you help us!?" he demands of the rebooting 'Con. Andi Lassiter wields aforementioned random object at the two Sweeps. "Leave now, before I do to you what I did to that moron." Can she really back up her words? Does Sunder really want to tangle with her again after last time? Meanwhile, Sunder is still in the throes of battlerage, and he pursues the retreating Dinobot long enough to get in another shot. Taking aim, he fires his disruptor rifle, almost hoping that it would be the shot that felled the beast. But if not, oh well. He could always pick out one of the Dinobot's tail spikes from Dredclaw's chest--or off the ground--as a souvenir. Sunder strikes Snarl with disruptor. Astrotrain comes back online about the time that Dredclaw is coming in his direction, and slowly sits up, one hand raising to his head as little puffs of smoke come out of his audials. "Gngh..." He exclaims, which isn't so much a word as just a sound of him trying to clear something out of his systems. And what of the sweep's demanding question of him? "Aw shaddup. Nobody asked ya to come!" Dredclaw's optics narrow and he tilts his head at Andi, "Do you really want to try to take on the two of us at once?" he looks down at Astrotrain. "regardless of the fact that you have a point...you could have at least shot him once or twice." he pauses and looks at Andi. "I doubt you could take us on AND protect your mate." the Sweep grins wickedly. Andrea Lassiter is a smallish woman, barely over 5 feet tall and thin. Her thick, dark brown hair is very slightly wavy and nearly brushing her waist, pulled back from her face in a barrette and the rest allowed to hang loose. A few thin crow's feet around her eyes are the only things that belie her age, as at a passing glance she'd easily be mistaken for someone in their mid-twenties. She is dressed in a light blue cotton t-shirt with a metal(?) sharktooth necklace gleaming at the garment's neckline. Her jeans are new and fit well without being too tight, and light, comfortable sandals protect her feet. When she notices your glance, she smiles and nods in greeting before moving on. Andi Lassiter seems completely unintimidated. "Do you really want to find out that I can?" Jayson Redfield just continues sitting the Jeep, clearly anxious about something. After last-hitting Snarl, Sunder turns and glares at Astrotrain. Perhaps the big Triplechanger forgets that Sunder outranks him. Heck, Sunder had forgotten. "Well, next time, I shall order you to assist us. And you *will* obey. Or did you not realize that I now outrank you, and as per our Emperors wishes, can give you orders?" A grin spreads across the Sweep's bearded face. Astrotrain probably had something witty to say to Dredclaw. Or maybe something stupid. But he's cut off as Sunder speaks his own words towards him, prompting the triplechanger to blink and turn towards him. A few seconds pass, and he just stares at the Sweep... Dredclaw looks back to the slightly smoking Astrotrain. Then at Sunder. "Bah! You are not worth the trouble." Never mind that he is extremely low on energon and has just been beaten about quite proficiently. "...BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" And over Astrotrain goes again. Almost falling to the ground before he catches himself in the process. "...BWAHAHAHAHA....oh man! You....me....YOU....AH HA HA HA HA!" Sunder's smirk turns into a frown as Astrotrain bursts out in laughter. He idly taps a talon on his other forearm, as his arms are folded across his chest. He stands there, glaring fiercely, but allowing Astrotrain to laugh himself out. Dredclaw makes a motion akin to rolling ones optics and leaps into the air. "Commander, unless you want me to press the attack on these Fleshlings, I would leave the laughing maniac here to his own devices and seek sustenance." Andi Lassiter looks ready to make good with her threat, pulling back on the pocket of the slingshot in her hands, ready to send a small yet very sturdy object at Dredclaw's head. Well, his optics to be precise. She watches him start to leave then aims for Sunder's optics in the same manner. Astrotrain keeps on going strong yet for awhile. "YOU...ORDER...AHAAHAHAHA!" He starts to stand again, but half doubles over from the laughter, hands gripping at his sides in the process. It's not that Andi's been ignored it's just that...well, let's say that Astrotrain's certainly found something else to focus on. It's probably just as well. "Gyah ha ha ha! Oh smeg, I can't take it! Where's Blitzwing!? I wish he coulda heard this! AH HAH HAH HAAAh...." Were he capable of crying he would probably be doing so right now. Finally though, it seems to pass, and he straightens up again, shoulders shaking slightly now and then. "...I needed that." Sunder sighs and shakes his head at Astrotrain. "Let us go, my brother," he says to Dredclaw, and soon joins him in the air. "If he chooses to disbelieve my claim of rank, so be it. He won't be laughing so hard if he chooses to ignore me in a future battle and Galvatron is around to hear of it." Something like a small pebble *plinks* against Sunder's face, just barely missing his optic as he turns to leave. He growls in annoyance, seeing the human below with the telltale slingshot. A mere nuisance. "We shall deal with the flesh creatures later," he says decisively, "For I too need fuel and repairs. We can continue this when we have been properly refreshed." Astrotrain finally ceases his shoulder shaking as the sweeps take off, and the last of the guffaws have left his system. "A'right...I'm done." He states, reaching out to pick up his rifle where it had fallen earlier during the explosion. Without another word he too is soon rising into the air, transforming a moment later and rocketing off into the sky, not requiring a pit stop back at base. He'd say it's because he's badass but it just pays to be the black sheep at times. Parts spin, components shift and Astrotrain's body grows in size until he is an enormous space shuttle. Andi Lassiter steps back and lets the Sweeps and Astrotrain leave if they're going to not cause anymore trouble. Sunder grumbles as he notices that an irritation has developed where the object that hit him had apparently shattered. It feels like acid burning into his face plates. Quickly he sticks his head in the fountain to wash it off before transforming and taking off. Sweepcraft makes a mental note to find out from Sunder what exactly did happen last time he came across that Terran woman.